From P. C. Cast, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the landmark House of Night urban fantasy series, comes an epic, lusty, magic-filled romantasy about British warrior queen Boudicca. Perfect for fans of Sue Lynn Tan and Madeline Miller! In Roman-occupied Britain, the Iceni tribe crowns an extraordinary new queen. Tall and flame-haired, Boudicca is devoted to Andraste, the Iceni’s patron goddess, known for her raven familiar, her fierceness and her swirling blue tattoos. Boudicca and her two young daughters will carry the tribe forward in dangerous times. Roman tax collector Catus Decianus, expecting weakness in a female ruler, launches a devastating attack on the tribe’s stronghold. Boudicca and her family barely survive—but they refuse to bend the knee. She calls a war council, bringing together her most trustworthy allies, including her childhood friend Rhan, now a powerful Druid seer, and the horse master Maldwyn, whose devotion to Boudicca runs deeper than a warrior to a queen. Surprising the Romans, Boudicca’s armies sack the wealthy cities of Camulodunum, Londinium and Veralamium. As the snow falls, the Celts retreat to a hidden valley to plot their assault on the remaining Roman legions, determined to force the invaders from Britan. But in the jagged ice of winter the Druid Rhan foresees a tragic end to Boudicca’s rebellion. Although the defeat of the Iceni is spelled out in signs sent by the gods, Rhan swears she will alter the future and save her queen. Now the battle-hardened Boudicca must put her trust in the powers of the otherworld to save her from both the traitors in her midst and from Rome’s mighty legions. Inspired by the rich history of Boudicca’s attack on Roman Britain, bestselling author P. C. Cast crafts an epic, mythic retelling of one of time’s most legendary female warriors.
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Your rating:
3.5/5.
The Vibes:
—revenge
—female rage (but legit)
—prophecy and "the gods are real" style mythology
—I mean... it's Boudicca
The Review:
So here's what I'll say about this one: I suspected that advertising it as a romantasy would perhaps underscore exactly why I complain about the romantasy marketing scheme... Because this isn't at all a romance.
Nor is it a fantasy.
It is, simply put, a pretty solid if not spectacular historical fiction novel that I think could've been spectacular, but settles for "solid". Aside from some things you may or may not be able to see coming and the interference of the gods, this really is a historical fiction novel. I mean, I've actually read a lot of historical fiction in the past wherein the gods in which the leads believe are real and involved. Where prophecy is real. They just weren't marketed as fantasy, because the genre lines were more solidly drawn at that time—in my opinion.
This is romantasy in the way that Margaret George's Helen of Troy is a romantasy, in that it is a) not b) about a heavily mythologized (if, in this case, based more on reality and fact) controversial woman reclaiming her story c) there is a romantic subplot, it's not huge, but it offers our heroine some depth and additional motivation.
While the action and the drama of it all stayed on point, and I do think Cast dealt with some pretty hard content sensitively (TW TW TW TW all around for this—please read up on the history of the real Boudicca if you have questions as to why) the character depth was lacking. I didn't object to either of Boudicca's love interests...
Because yes! She has more than one, and not in a "love triangle" way in a "non-monogamy" way. Which I liked a lot. However, because neither of those love interests was particularly well-developed, I kinda felt like "... okay cool I guess" about the relationships themselves. And that was where the impact of the book generally fell for me. I just didn't care as much about these people as I wanted to.
But it could be a taste thing, it could be because I as a romance reader want a bit more OOMPH to my emotional drama. And a lot of people will probably enjoy what was done here. I liked it; I just felt like something couldn't taken it to another level.
That said, the me of 8ish years ago who read nothing but woman-centric sometimes-mystical historical fiction? Probably would've loved this.
Thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for providing me with a copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
0I wanted to love this book, the premise sounds amazing and the author is one I was extremely fond of growing up, with the House of Night Series. Unfortunately, Boudicca missed the mark. The prose and the dialogue felt extremely stiff, jilted, and repetitive right off the bat. It is told in first person POV through Boudicca, but there is no sense of connection with the character. We watch her do things but do not get her inner workings and a real sense of her. What you do get is things repeated right after they are introduced, as if the reader is too dumb to pick up what the author is putting down and needs to be reminded of it constantly. Especially that Boudicca is QUEEN and rules over the ICENI, two things we are reminded of more often than there are pages in the book.
However, if these things do not bother you, be warned that there is violence and sexual assault in this book, as there is in the history of Boudicca. Cast does seem to be doing a good job of making the historical accurate where possible and including interesting deities from the time with a dash of fantastical elements. If that sounds appealing to you and you aren't as bothered by repetitiveness and clunky writing as I am, definitely give this book a try!
Thank you to William Morrow and NetGalley for providing the e-ARC of this book. All opinions within this review are my own.
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